


Start of Something Good

by moviegeek03



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Blind Date, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Fic, M/M, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-25
Updated: 2015-02-21
Packaged: 2018-01-02 15:24:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1058408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moviegeek03/pseuds/moviegeek03
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blaine’s life was complicated.  Divorced and a single father (all by the ripe old age of 20), and now a college freshman in a new city.  Yeah, his life definitely wasn’t what he had expected it to be.  But he was learning to get by with some help from some newfound friends, and maybe a newfound love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is also Courtney’s fault because she decided to send me pictures of baby clothes that made her think of Blaine. Thanks for the bunny sweetheart <3.

_Blaine sank down onto the couch. The sonogram sat off to one side and the Tisch acceptance letter on the other. He should be happy. Everything was changing! But that was also part of the problem. Things were changing and the person who was supposed to support him the most through it all had changed his mind._

_“Eric—” Blaine called to his husband._

_“Don’t,” he barked back, pointing a finger at Blaine and glaring. “I can’t believe you think I would want to go to New York!” He resumed his pacing around the cramped room._

_“I know you have had success here in LA with some acting jobs, but you could get the same jobs in New York while I go to school. You said you would!”_

_“Well I didn’t think you would get in!”_

_Blaine flinched as if he had been hit and looked down towards the floor. His own husband didn’t believe in him. “You can’t mean that.”_

_“No! I do! What the hell are you thinking Blaine? You think I want to pack up my life and hop on the first plane to go half way across the country to start all over?”_

_“I did for you!” Blaine snapped, looking back up at his husband. “I gave up everything to come here with you. I could have gone to New York last year and gone to school and—”_

_“And what? Been buried under debt and completely alone? Don’t act like you had a life outside of us, Blaine. I remember how your parents treated you. I remember how they weren’t going to pay for college unless you were going for a ‘proper’ degree and I remember how they didn’t want you to ‘act on your sexuality’ so don’t even play that card.”_

_Blaine bit his lip. “I know I wouldn’t have had my parents support, but I still could’ve gone to school.”_

_“And how would you have pay for it? How will you pay for it now?”_

_“I can get scholarships, Eric. I’m good enough. And we aren’t poor. You’ve been getting well paying jobs and—”_

_“And that is not money you can use for school,” Eric spat. “Going to school for acting and music is stupid, and I will not let you use my money on that!”_

_“Your money? I thought we were supposed to share everything. We’re married! We’re about to have a baby!”_

_“You’re having a baby. He’s not mine.”_

_Blaine sighed. “You said to use my sample and not yours. You wanted it to be partly mine. I told you I didn’t care either way. It was your decision.”_

_“Yeah, well, it doesn’t matter. He’s yours so, he will be your responsibility. I have auditions lined up. I’m not cancelling those and moving where I have no connections. Just no. I’m not giving up. Not for anything.”_

_“I’m not asking you to give up anything. I’m just asking you to try this for me. To try this in another city. There are still plenty of opportunities in New York.”_

_“Not for me!”_

_“Eric you do commercials! You can do those in New York just the same as you do in LA. And I can’t do what I want here. I don’t feel like I fit. I want to get back into performing. I want to be on stage. On Broadway.”_

_“Like you’ll get there. You have a baby to take care of!”_

_Blaine shifted nervously. “So you’re not going to help?”_

_Eric crossed his arms. “He’ll be your child.”_

_“And you were the one who said we should have him,” Blaine replied, his words barely above a whisper. “You were the one who said we were ready and it was time.”_

_“Yeah, well,” Eric shrugged, “I knew you were getting restless. I thought it would be good for you. Give you something to do while I was working.”_

_Blaine saw red at his words. “You used our son as a way to manipulate me? As a way to get me to stop thinking about college didn’t you? You don’t want me to try to have my own career?”_

_“Stop calling him our son,” Eric stated, practically ignoring all of the accusations._

_“I can’t believe this.” Blaine ran a hand through his hair, pulling the curls from the gel._

_“And I can’t believe you actually thought I wanted any of this.”_

_Blaine’s throat clenched and he felt like he was going to scream or sob. He wasn’t sure which. Maybe both. “Then why are you still with me?”_

_Eric groaned. “I thought you would get this silly idea out of your head. My career is taking off. Why do you need to go to school?”_

_Blaine closed his eyes and clenched his hands. “So I have something for me and our son.”_

_“Your son—God I can’t do this, Blaine!”_

_“What? You can’t have this fight?”_

_“No, I can’t keep doing this with you. I’m sick of it! I should never have let you go to New York for that audition and I shouldn’t have called the surrogate agency. If I hadn’t done that, we’d still be happy.”_

_“But I wasn’t happy,” Blaine groaned. “You think it’s been fun watching you go out on all these great auditions while I can’t even get a call back?”_

_“You should be happy for me!”_

_“What about you? Are you not supposed to be happy for me?”_

_Eric’s face reddened. “I quit.” He stomped over to the coat wrack and pulled his hoodie off, knocking it to the floor. “I’m not going to take this anymore.”_

_“Eric—”_

_“No! This is over. We’re over.”_

_A few months ago, Blaine would’ve run after him. Stopped him before he made it upstairs to pack. But not this time. He looked down at the grainy black and white photo of his son and knew he couldn’t keep doing this. It wasn’t fair to anyone._

_He leaned his head back against the couch cushions and closed his eyes._

Then they flew open as he awoke from his dream with a start. Well, nightmare more than dream. He lifted his head, pulling away the sheet music and worksheets that were stuck to his cheek. 

“So much for studying,” he groaned, rubbing at his face. He pulled his textbook closer and to try again, only to be interrupted by a piercing shriek from the other room. “Shit!” He stood and hurried into the living room, panicking about what he would find. 

He definitely didn’t expect to find his roommate dressed up in a superhero cape holding his son above his head. The infant donned his own mini cape and shrieked in joy every time he was dipped.

“Sam,” Blaine sighed in relief before coughing into his arm. He’d had a nagging cough for a few days and it didn’t seem to be going away any time soon. 

Sam looked up with wide eyes, stopping mid dip and whoosh. “Hey! Sorry, man, I was trying to get him to settle down so we wouldn’t wake you but he was having too much fun and I really didn’t want to stop.”

“You mean you both were having too much fun, not just Luke.” Blaine crossed the room and made grabby hands for his son. 

“Maybe,” Sam replied with a smile. He handed the little boy over to Blaine, who resumed the pretend flying. “You have to admit it’s pretty awesome.”

“Maybe,” Blaine repeated in the same tone as Sam. He brought his son towards his face so he could give him a kiss. “Thanks for taking care of him for me while I was studying.”

“You mean napping.” Sam squeezed his shoulder and nudged him towards the couch. “You look like you could use a few more hours.”

“I need to study. But I’m just a little tired. Luke didn’t want to sleep last night.”

“I noticed,” Sam replied with a shudder. “I could hear how unhappy he was.”

“Ugh, sorry. He’s normally not that bad. I think Luke just didn’t feel well.”

“And now you don’t feel well. You’re exhausted, Blaine, not just a little tired. You fell asleep studying for your composition class, didn’t you?” Blaine nodded. “Which is your favorite this semester and the one you love studying for. Yet you fell asleep.”

“Yeah but—”

“You need to take more time for yourself, Blaine.” Sam sat down next to him and nudged his shoulder. “Maybe actually let me set you up for a date with my friend Kurt.” 

“No, Sam.” Blaine didn’t even look up from his son. He continued playing with the boy and tried to ignore his friend.

“But Blaine—”

“No,” Blaine sighed, finally looking up. “No one wants to go out with a divorced twenty year old college freshman with a nearly one year old son. It just doesn’t work like that.”

“Dude, I would totally date you. Ya know, if I wasn’t into chicks. Baby or not.”

“Well, you’re different. Not many other guys would.”

“But Kurt’s different too. I don’t think he would care.”

Blaine held Luke almost protectively against his chest, making sure to stifle coughs so as not to make him sick. “They always do. I’m not putting Luke through that. No one our age wants to deal with all this.” 

Sam looked as if he was concentrating hard for a few moments. “What if Artie and I found you one of those cougars?”

“What?” Blaine laughed. “You do realize those are women.”

“Oh,” Sam huffed dejectedly. “Whatever. You know what I mean.”

Sam patted Sam’s shoulder. “I do. And I appreciate the sentiment but I’m going to have to pass. I have enough on my plate. Don’t need to add that to it.”

“Fine. But just know the offer stands. I don’t want you to think that you have to do everything alone.”

Blaine just nodded at Sam before turning his attention back to the baby. “I have this little guy here to keep me company.” He held Luke above his head before bringing him down to blow a raspberry on his stomach, causing the boy to squeal happily again. “And you and Artie are probably the best roommates I could have ever asked for. ”

“We are pretty awesome,” Sam agreed. 

“That you are. Thanks again for taking care of Luke for me.”

“Any time. I can take him for a little longer if you want to get some more sleep.”

Blaine glanced up at the wall clock. “No, I’ve got him. Besides, don’t you have to be at the comic store soon?”

Sam’s eyes widened in panic. “Damn it!” He jumped up from the couch and all but ran back to his bedroom, knocking over a coat wrack and tripping over a rug in the process. He emerged a moment later with his hoodie hanging from one shoulder and his bag on the other. “I got distracted by your son.”

“It’s easy to do with this face.” Blaine held Luke up, who smiled widely at Sam. 

Sam laughed and leaned down to give him a kiss on the forehead. “See ya later Lukie.”

“Be careful,” Blaine instructed. “I know how you are on your bike when you get in a hurry and it’s pushing rush hour. I’d like to see you in one piece tonight.”

“Aye aye captain,” Sam replied in his best pirate voice. He saluted Blaine before snagging his helmet from the table and heading out.

Luke started fussing a little at Sam’s departure, but soon stopped once Blaine began bouncing and cuddling him. “No need for that buddy. Sam’ll be back in a few hours. He’ll play with you tomorrow.” Luke’s tiny hands gripped tightly at Blaine’s shirt and he pressed his chubby cheeks into Blaine’s chest. “Someone needs a nap, huh? Looks like you didn’t get enough sleep earlier.” 

Blaine carefully cradled his son as he stood from the couch and took him into his own bedroom. There was no point in trying to study any more. Sam was right, he didn’t feel well and there was no way he was going to get any further with the books. So instead, he gently laid Luke on his bed and quickly changed into sweats. He maneuvered the sleepy baby enough so he could pull down the sheets and climb in next to him. 

Luke curled up against his side, gripping his shirt once more. Blaine ran his fingers through his son’s hair, gently playing with the curls. It didn’t take long for Luke to fall back asleep. Blaine lasted a little longer, staying awake and watching his son for a few moments.

“Sam’s wrong,” he said softly. “I don’t need someone else. I have you and I’m ok. We’re doing ok. We’re ok.” 

Blaine wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince his sleeping son or himself.

~~~~~~

“Remind me why I am doing this?” Kurt asked from his place at his closet.

“Because you love me and know how much this will mean to me!” Rachel replied with a smirk.

“Mmm,” he groaned. “I guess.”

“Oh come on! It won’t be that bad!” Rachel hopped off of Kurt’s bed and joined him at his curtained off closet. “Just grab an old pair of jeans and a t-shirt if you are that worried.”

Kurt sent her a glare. “I don’t own kid proof clothes.”

“No one does; not even parents always do. It won’t be that bad.”

“But they are covered in everything and I don’t want that on my good clothes!”

“Then steal my NYADA hoodie and grab a pair of jeans. You’ll be fine! It’s one night, Kurt.”

“Fine.” He followed her into her room to get the sweatshirt. “You are lucky I love you.”

She bounced and threw her arms around his neck. “I know! And I love you too.” She pressed a kiss to his cheek before moving to get her hoodie. “Here you go. It’s huge on me so shouldn’t be too tight for you. And I don’t care if the kids ‘put their grubby hands all over it’ like you’ve been worried about.” 

Kurt glared at her as he slid the hoodie over his head. “I just don’t love kids.”

“I know, but I love that you are helping Shelby out tonight so she can come see me on stage.”

Kurt smiled at her. “It’s fine. I’ll be fine. I know I’m overreacting.” Rachel mock gasped in shock at his admission; to which he rolled his eyes. “How bad can it be?”

“Exactly!” Rachel started bouncing in excitement again. “Thank you so much for this!”

“You’re welcome, Rach.” He walked back to his room to gather his things. “So will Shelby still be at the daycare or someone else?” 

“She and Beth will be there but have to leave as soon as you get there. Shelby’s boyfriend is going to watch over Beth tonight so she can enjoy the show without interruptions. You’ll be on your own at the daycare. Her other employee doesn’t work Friday nights. Think he has a coffee shop gig on the side or something.” 

“Oh, so I’ll be alone and completely outnumbered. Great…”

“Oh stop!” Rachel smacked his arm. “It won’t be that bad. They’re good kids. They all like to sing and dance so you’ll fit right in! And those who don’t are too young to do either of those things.”

“Wait, there will be babies present?”

“Babies do go to daycares too, Kurt.”

Kurt groaned loudly and flung himself back onto his bed. “This is going to be a disaster.”

“Well, you won’t know until you get up and go! Which you need to do. Like now.”

“I hate you.”

“You love me.” Rachel pulled him up and pushed him towards the door, snagging his bag for him in the process. “Now get out of here so Shelby can have time to get ready for my show!”

“Fine. Break a leg tonight.” He gave her a quick hug before heading out towards Shelby’s daycare service. He caught the train and made in there on time, despite Rachel’s concerns. 

He typed in the code at the door to get into the building and carefully entered, just in case any kids were trying to make their escape. Though it turned out he didn’t need to worry about that. The door entered into a small lobby and a long hallway that lead to another door. Once there, Kurt could see Shelby and the kids on the other side. She caught his eye and rushed over to open it for him.

“Hey, Kurt,” she greeted, adjusting Beth on her hip. 

“Hey.” He sent her a small smile but couldn’t help but look around the room. There were more kids than he had hoped, but not too many. That didn’t stop the panic from welling up inside of him at the idea of spending the next few hours with them all, breaking up fights, dodging dirty hands, and changing diapers. 

“It’s not too bad tonight,” she said, apparently picking up on his nervousness. She walked around towards a desk sitting off to the side. “There is a list of instructions and things for each child.” Kurt’s eyes widened. “Don’t worry, there are pictures of the child attached to each one. There is also a list of who is allowed to pick them up from daycare and contact information for their guardians. The parents have to ring in and give you time to see them on the intercom. I’ve informed them that there is a newbie working tonight so they know to give some detailed information before you let them in.”

“Ok,” Kurt replied cautiously.

She took him around, showing him where everything was and introducing him to the kids. It was overwhelming to say the least. 

“I promise it isn’t too bad. You’ll know if the parents are who they say they are. The kids, no matter the time or how tired, usually get pretty excited. But we still have precautions in place.”

“I understand.” 

“At this time of night, we usually just let the kids have semi structured playtime. They can move to the different stations if they would like or if they are a little older and need to do schoolwork that is fine too. Just play with them and keep an eye on them. The older kids ate prior to being dropped off, so there are only a few babies who might need to eat. We just have Luke, Aidan, and Trish in our baby group tonight. If anyone asks for snacks, there are snacks available and their papers tell what types of snacks they are and are not allowed to have.

“O-ok.”

“I promise it isn’t too bad, honey,” Shelby laughed. “Is it Beth?” The little girl shook her head before laying it down on Shelby’s shoulder. “Yeah most of the kids will probably crash in the sleep station in a few hours while they wait on their parents. It shouldn’t be too bad.”

_Easy for you to say. You’re leaving._

“Ok, I think I can manage,” Kurt said instead. 

“Wonderful! I really appreciate this.” Shelby sent him a smile, much like her daughter had earlier, and went about gathering her belongings. “Now, I can’t really answer my phone during the show but there is contact information for my boyfriend who has helped out here a few times. He has already said you are welcome to call if you need.”

“I can do that. Thanks.”

“Now, most of the parents will probably be late if they are performing. Some mentioned just going to see a show so they may be by a little earlier. If it starts to get too late, you may want to call them and see if something happened.”

“So just pay attention to the time and to the kids?” 

“Pretty much.” Shelby hoisted her giant bag onto her shoulder, all while managing to keep Beth in place and content. “I think you’ve got it covered then. I really appreciate it! I marked what time you came in so just mark when you leave so I know how many hours to pay you for.”

“I will.” Kurt followed them to the door and waved them goodbye. “Have fun tonight!”

She sent him one last smile and then was gone, leaving him with a room full of kids who were all going in a hundred different directions. “Oh god,” Kurt gasped to himself as he looked around the room. “Ok, you can do this.”

“Are you talking to yourself?” one of the little girls—oh god he’d already forgotten her name—asked. 

“Maybe,” Kurt huffed, running a hand through his hair. 

“Ok, I do it all the time but mommy says to be careful because people will think you’re crazy. Are you crazy? Because if you are then I guess it is ok.”

Kurt was beginning to think he was crazy for agreeing to cover Shelby’s daycare…

He eventually managed to get the girl to go play again and to stop asking him questions. As Shelby had said, most of the kids were at the various play stations. The few babies were all corralled up in a playpen, where they were sleeping. Or at least they were when Kurt had last looked. But the panicked cry coming from across the room said otherwise. 

Kurt scurried over to the playpen, only finding two of the babies there. “Damn it,” he muttered to himself. 

“You said a bad word,” one of the little boys teased. 

Kurt didn’t even bother saying anything to the kid; he was too worried about the missing baby—Luke if he remembered correctly. He frantically looked around the playpen and the surrounding area, but couldn’t find the boy. He scanned the floor and some of the play stations to no avail. It wasn’t until he heard another cry that he saw the child.

Kurt gasped as he saw Luke on the play set across the room. The baby had managed to climb his way up to the second level and was much too close to the edge for Kurt’s liking, or his own if the tear stained face was any indication. Kurt rushed over to him and scooped the boy into his arms before he could fall.

“I’ve got ya. You’re ok.” Luke’s tiny hands fisted Kurt’s hoodie and he buried his face into the fabric. Kurt rubbed his back and as he continued to cry, trying to calm him. “It’s ok, buddy. See?” Kurt pulled him away from his chest to get a look at him, but the boy began crying a little more at that and clung tighter. “Ok. It’s ok.” Kurt hugged him again and rocked him. “You’re safe now. How’d you manage to get up there? Huh? Who would’ve thought these little legs could do that.” He brushed his fingers along Luke’s chubby legs, causing him to hiccup out a few giggles in between the tears. “Ha! I see someone is ticklish.” He ran his fingers along the same spot and elicited a few more giggles.

It seemed as if that did the trick. Luke stopped crying and appeared to have calmed from his scare. “Ok, kiddo, time for you to get down and play with the other babies.” Kurt held him out and was about to set him back in the playpen, but Luke started tearing up and whimpering again. He reached out and grabbed onto Kurt’s hoodie again and tugged at it, making little noises of protest and distress all the while.

“Ok, guess not,” Kurt sighed, pulling the boy back against his chest. Luke cuddled into him quickly and calmed. Kurt groaned to himself. He didn’t want to have to hold the baby all night long, but it looked like he would be stuck with him for a little while. At least he didn’t seem to be as sticky as most of the babies Kurt had encountered over the years. 

Kurt took him over to the play area and sat down on one of the beanbags so he could watch and talk to the other children. Luke continued to cling to him, not budging even when Kurt had to get up to get snacks for the others or to check on the two babies sleeping in their playpen. He seemed content in Kurt’s arms, babbling away to him and blowing little bubbles sleepily as the night went on. 

As time passed, Kurt realized he didn’t mind holding the little guy. He had to admit, the kid was absolutely adorable. His curly hair poked out from under a teal beanie cap. It matched the t-shirt he had under a dark brown cable knit sweater. Kurt couldn’t help but smile when he finally noticed that the logo on the shirt featured the art from Luke’s Diner on _Gilmore Girls_. He even had baby sized Chuck Taylors to match. 

Despite how much Kurt had been dreading the night, it passed quickly, mostly due to Luke distracting him. Parents soon began to pick up their sleeping children to take them home to their own beds. All the parent’s but Luke’s at least…

“Well, at least your mom dresses you well, even if she is late,” Kurt huffed. Luke yawned loudly in response. “I know, bud. I’m tired too.” He cradled the baby close and carefully sat down in the padded rocking chair to wait. He was nearly asleep himself when he heard the door open. He opened his eyes, expecting to see a frazzled parent but instead found Shelby dressed in a rather eloquent black dress and heels. “Shelby? What?”

“Hey.” She walked over and squeezed his shoulder. “How did it go?”

“Good,” he replied around a yawn. 

“No problems?”

“Not really. Aside from this little guy’s daredevil moment.”

“Oh no,” Shelby laughed. “What did Luke do now?”

“Climbed out of the playpen and somehow got up onto the playset.” Shelby shook her head fondly. “And the fact that no one has picked him up yet,” Kurt continued. 

“His dad called me. He’s my employee that has weekend nights off to play music at a local coffee shop. He passed out during his performance and his friends who could’ve picked up Luke panicked and went to check on him and deal with everything. He ended up at the ER and just now got home. I said I would drop Luke off for him so he doesn’t have to figure out a way to. He sounded pretty sick.”

“Oh,” Kurt replied, biting his lip. He felt bad for mentally badmouthing Luke’s parents—well his dad—for the better part of the last hour. “Is he ok?”

“He’s going to be out of commission for a little while but yeah he’ll be fine with some rest and medicine. I might end up calling on you to help cover some of his shifts if you can.”

“Yeah, sure.” Luke moved a little in his sleep and snuggled impossibly closer to Kurt. He looked down at the baby, watching him sleep for a few moments. 

“Looks like someone made a friend.”

Kurt glanced up to see Shelby smiling warmly. 

“He didn’t want me to put him down after I got him off the playset. Guess he scared himself.”

“Probably.” Shelby ran her fingers over Luke’s beanie covered head. “Well I better get our little Houdini home to his daddy.” She carefully took Luke from Kurt and settled him in into a spare car seat she kept at the daycare for emergencies. “Do you mind locking up for me?”

“No, not at all.”

“Thanks again, Kurt. I’ll call you tomorrow or Sunday and see about you maybe covering a few more hours.” 

“Ok,” Kurt replied as he gathered up his own things. Shelby left to get Luke home. Kurt watched her quietly head down to the awaiting cab, realizing just how much he was going to miss the kid. He shook his head and set about locking everything up.

~~~~~~~

“You have freaking pneumonia!”

“Can you lower your voice, Sam?” Blaine asked weakly from the bed. He tried to burry his face in the pillows to block out everything but it didn’t work. He gave up after a few moments and was greeted by Artie’s camera when he looked back up at his roommates. “What are you doing?”

“Filming you for my documentary for school,” Artie replied casually.

“Do you have to shove it in my face when I feel like death?”

Artie lowered it back down to his lap. “I’m sorry, B. I just want to make sure I show the hardships of being a young parent and this is a part of it. So I’d like to film it.”

Blaine sighed before croaking, “Ok.” 

“No, it’s not ok,” Sam continued. “This is exactly what I’ve been talking about!”

“What? Artie filming me? What?” Blaine groggily asked.

“No, this!” Sam waved his arms at Blaine in bed. 

“I’m sorry,” Blaine sighed tiredly.

Sam seemed to calm some at the dejected tone coming from Blaine. “I know. It’s just, I hate seeing you do this to yourself.”

“I didn’t think it was that bad. I thought it was just a bug I’d picked up from Luke or one of the kids at daycare.”

“But it wasn’t,” Sam commented, sitting on the edge of the bed. “You’re just doing so much. Maybe too much.”

“Don’t,” Blaine snapped, sending himself into a coughing fit that lasted much longer than anyone would’ve liked. Sam leapt into action, rubbing Blaine’s back and trying to help him through it. 

“You ok?” Sam asked once he seemed to have settled down again.

Blaine only nodded, not trusting his voice yet. 

Before either could say anything else, buzzer for the main door started up. Artie wheeled over to it and said something that Blaine didn’t catch. But moments later, Shelby entered their door, so Blaine assumed Artie had rang her in somehow. 

“Oh sweetie,” Shelby sighed as she looked him over. She passed Luke off to Artie, who began cuddling the sleeping baby almost immediately. Shelby knelt down and ran her fingers through Blaine’s sweaty hair. “You look like you feel terrible.”

Blaine hummed in reply. “I’ll be ok. The doctor said it could’ve been worse. I probably passed out because of the heat of the lights when I was on stage since I already had a fever.”

“Well, either way, you are most definitely on sick leave from the daycare until you are cleared by a doctor.”

Blaine wanted to argue, but knew it was pointless with this many people against him. So he simply nodded and let it go. 

Shelby left soon after, promising him to check up on him in a few days. Artie hung around for a moment before retreating into the nursery with Luke, claiming he would just get germs from Blaine and the cycle of sickness would continue if Blaine got a hold of him. 

That left just Sam and Blaine in the small bedroom with an odd silence hanging between them. Blaine shifted uneasily. He wasn’t used to Sam acting like this with him. They’d had little spats in the past, normally over who was the best X-Men character, but those were never serious. This was.

“Sam—”

“I’m sorry I yelled at you,” Sam interrupted. “I’m just really worried about you.”

Blaine smiled a little in return. “I appreciate that but I’m fine.”

“No you’re not,” Sam replied softly. He gently grabbed Blaine’s arm so that the bandage covering where his IV had been could be seen. “You have a matching one on your head where you hit it after passing out.” 

Blaine deflated against the pillows and looked down at his sheets.

“Hey, I’m not trying to make you feel bad, man. I just don’t want to see you do this to yourself again. You are in this like, cycle thing. You keep doing so much stuff and don’t take time for yourself. And you’re great! I mean that. You’re like this awesome super dad with Luke and kicking ass at Tisch and are the best roomie a guy could ask for—don’t tell Artie I said that.” 

“Promise,” Blaine laughed before coughing. 

“But then this happens and you just try to power through it instead of asking for help. You have us, dude! Artie and I are here for you. And you could totally find a boyfriend or someone who would be there for you. You know I keep saying I have this old high school buddy I could set you up with and—”

“I get it,” Blaine said. “I know I need to make some changes and take care of myself more. Waking up in the ER is not one of my favorite things to do.” He shuddered and pulled the blanket tighter around him. He remained silent for a few moments before sighing. “I’ll try.”

“Awesome.” Sam stood quickly from his place on Blaine’s bed and squeezed his shoulder. “Get some rest man. Artie and I can take care of everything for now.”

Blaine nodded, exhausted from talking and staying awake longer than he should have. He let fluff the pillows like a mother hen and pull the blankets up around him. He was already half asleep by the time Sam turned off the lights, completely missing the mischievous smile Sam had on his face as he left the room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW! I’m kind of blown away by the response this has gotten so far. Thank you all so much! I hope chapter 2 doesn’t disappoint. Before I shut up, I did want to warn in case it is still hard for some that Finn is referenced in this chapter and will appear in future chapters. As this is an AU world, I decided I wanted to include Finn in it.

Sam sighed as he sped up and swerved around a taxi. Horns blared behind him but he paid them no mind, simply swerving and twisting his bike around to get through the rush hour traffic. He had to hurry. He still needed to get to the coffee shop and then get back to the apartment. Back to a very sick Blaine who was still insisting he was capable of handling everything on his own.

“Finally,” he muttered to himself as the little coffee shop came into view. He nearly skidded against the concrete in his rush to slow down but managed to stay on the bike and come to a full stop. He groaned as he locked it up outside, noticing how crowded the place was. He really needed to get back to Blaine. 

It had been four days since Blaine had passed out while performing at this same coffee shop and things were not improving as fast as he would have liked. He still could barely get out of bed without being plagued but a rattling cough. A trip down the hall to the bathroom left him gasping and wheezing. Yet he still wanted to try to take care of Luke and keep up with homework... 

Needless to say, Sam just wanted to pick up Blaine’s check from the manager and put in a to go order at the counter as quickly as possible. 

“Sam?” a familiar voice called over to him as he slid into line. He looked around until his eyes settled on Rachel Berry. She rushed towards him, her purple coat swishing in her hurried steps. Once she was beside him she gave him a quick hug. 

“Hey Rachel,” he greeted once she let go of him. “It’s been awhile.”

“It has! I don’t think I’ve seen you or Artie since you first moved here!” 

“Yeah I—“ 

“Hey Sam,” the shop’s manager called from behind the counter. “Want your regular order for the night?” 

Sam held up a hand for Rachel to give him a minute and turned towards the bar. “Yeah, please. And add some soup and tea for Blaine if you don’t mind. And his check?” 

“Coming right up! I’ll be with you in a minute miss,” she said to Rachel before starting to prepare the order. 

“I take it you come here often?” Rachel asked.

“Yeah, don’t live that far from here. And my roomie plays music here on weekends. You?”

“First time actually. My costars—I don’t know if Finn told you but I got Fanny Brice for the Funny Girl revival!”

“He did,” Sam laughed. “Congratulations though. I just haven’t gotten to see it yet.”

“Well I hope you do before it closes! But anyway,” she waved her arms as if that would make her get back on topic, “they said this is the best place to get cheesecake and I thought I would get some for Kurt. He’s working extra hours and I think it is partially my fault.”

“Aww that sucks. But yeah, they totally have the best cheesecake here. I get it all the time when Blaine plays here.”

“Blaine?”

“Yeah, my roomie.”

“I thought Artie was your roommate?”

“Oh he is but our apartment has four bedrooms. His parents help with the cost since he needed a nicer one that was more handicapable and all. But it was still hard on us to cover the rest. Blaine is our third roomie.” Sam dug out his phone from his pocket. “Here.” He showed her a picture of Blaine performing a few weeks ago. He was relaxed up on the stage, his legs stretched out across the piano bench and his back against the wall. His guitar was in hand and he was lost in the music. 

“Oh wow,” Rachel gasped, causing Sam to laugh. 

“I’ve been tryin’ to get Kurt to go out with him.”

“And he’s been turning that down?”

“Well, he’s never actually seen him. I just told him I had a friend who was gay.”

“Oh Sam, you have to actually show him what he looks like and tell him more than just that if you want him to agree to a blind date!”

“Oh, I do?”

Rachel sighed and rolled her eyes. “Can you send me that picture?”

“Yeah! I think I still have your number. Want a video too? Think I have one of him performing that night.” 

“Definitely!” 

“Sam, order’s up! The check is down in the bag for you.”

“Thanks! Blaine will appreciate it.”

“Of course,” the manager replied. “How is he anyway?”

“Still sick but feelin’ better.” 

“Good. Tell him to stay away until he’s all healed up then. He’ll still have his gig come then.” 

Sam sent her a big smile. “Thanks Maggie.” 

He started packing the food away in his backpack before speaking to Rachel again. “I’ll send you those pictures and video so you can show Kurt. Blaine’s a good guy, and he doesn’t really go out much.”

“Kurt’s become that way. He goes to work and school and then comes home and plops down to marathon whatever he’s got on the DVR. He doesn’t really put himself out much anymore.”

“Think he’ll go for it?”

“You think Blaine will?”

“Probably,” Sam nodded with a shrug. “He’s sick right now so he couldn’t really go out right now but I think I could talk to him at least.”

“Well, you get him to ok it and I will work on Kurt. Bringing him some cheesecake might do the trick.” 

Sam laughed again. “See ya around then.” He waved goodbye to Rachel and hurried out of the shop with a smile, happy that he did not need to do much to start his plan in motion. After his talk with Blaine a few nights ago, he was determined to find a way for Blaine to have more fun and things for himself. This looked like the perfect step towards that.

xxxxxxxxx

Kurt sighed to himself as he trudged home. His feet shuffled against the sidewalk, kicking the fallen leaves along the way. The air was cold, but he refused to put on his good coat, not when he had drying paint and sticky remnants of food stuck to his sweater. It was awful. His whole day had been awful.

He could barely lift his feet enough to clear the steps up to his building, but once inside the building, he relished in the warm air of the furnace. It made the last bit of his trek up to his apartment that much more bearable. He was still miserable though.

“Woah, look what the cat dragged in,” Santana teased as he slid into the their home.

“Shut up,” he groaned.

“Damn, someone must be tired if he can’t even get his claws out to fight back,” she continued. 

Kurt didn’t say anything in response. He tried to muster up a glare, but he was sure it fell flat.

“Woah,” Rachel gasped as she rounded the corner. “What happened to your sweater?”

“What didn’t is the better question,” he grumbled in return. He sidestepped her and pulled the sweater off. He grabbed a clean shirt and a pair of yoga pants from his room and changed before coming back out to talk to the girls. “The little monsters Shelby asked me to watch ganged up on me.”

“Kurt, they are just kids,” Rachel replied, obviously trying not to laugh. 

“They are the spawns of Satan, not Broadway performers. No way.” Kurt threw his hands up and made a beeline for the couch. He practically fell onto the cushions with a sigh and reached for the remote…only for Rachel to pull it from his hands. “Hey! I wanted to catch up on Project Runway!”

“Oh shut up,” Santana sighed, sitting herself on the top of the couch. “I know for a fact you did that over the weekend and the new episode hasn’t aired yet.”

“But—”

“Kurt, you are in a rut,” Rachel said. She sat beside him and squeezed his hand. 

“No I’m not. I’m just tired from chasing around a room full of snotty brats and going to school and doing work for Vogue.com and—”

“Oh, come on!” Santana snorted. “How bad can working at the daycare be? They’re all stage babies anyway.”

“Imagine mini spotlight seeking Rachel’s all vying for your attention while hyped up on sugar their parents gave them before dropping them off.”

“Oh god,” Santana gasped at the same time Rachel yelled “Hey!” rather indignantly. 

“Girls, I just want to relax.”

Rachel huffed but continued on nonetheless. “Well you can sit back and relax while I talk.”

“While normally I would say that is anything but a way to relax, I’m going to side with Berry on this one.”

“No,” Kurt practically whined. 

“Hear me out!” Rachel pushed. “I ran into Sam today.”

“Evans?”

“Yeah, remember? He’s living with Artie and some guy in town now. Trying to become a model while Artie goes to film school.”

“Oh yea, I remember,” Kurt replied. “I just haven’t seen him around in awhile. What about him, Rach?”

“Well, anyway, we got to talking while I was in line to buy some cheesecake—”

“There’s cheesecake?” Kurt interrupted, perking up a little.

“Yes,” Santana huffed. “And if you are a good boy and listen to everything we have to say you can maybe have some.”

Kurt rolled his eyes but looked towards Rachel for her to continue.

“Anyway, we got to talking. He mentioned how Artie and he found this guy to room with them and how he doesn’t get out much. So I started talking about you and he mentioned that he wanted to set you guys up but you kept turning him down.”

Kurt’s eyes widened as Rachel spoke a ridiculously fast. “Um…yeah he mentioned he had a gay roommate the last time we talked. But just because I’m gay doesn’t mean I’m going to jump into bed with the any gay guy I meet and…” He trailed off as Rachel shoved her cell phone in front of his face. 

Santana leaned down to get a better look. “Damn, boy.” She grabbed the phone from Rachel’s hands and pulled it up towards her. Kurt pushed himself up so he could get another look. “Ok, if he looks like this then you should.” 

“It doesn’t work that way,” he huffed. “I’m not good at the whole one night stand thing. I want a connection. I don’t know if we have anything in common!” 

Rachel motioned for her phone. “Well, he sings. He apparently performs at that coffee shop we were at. I had Sam send me a video of it. Here.” She clicked play and slid the phone back towards Kurt. 

Soon, the sounds of an acoustic version of “Teenage Dream” filled the apartment. The sound quality wasn’t great on the phone, but there was no denying that the guy was good. Kurt couldn’t take his eyes off the screen as the guy sang and played the piano. He nearly forgot the girls were even in the room until Santana elbowed him.

“Ooh someone is already in love.”

“I’m not in love.”

“But you are interested,” Rachel exclaimed, clapping her hands. 

“Maybe…but when could I go out? I’m slammed between work and school and helping Shelby right now.”

“Sam said Blaine, that’s his name, is sick right now. So he wouldn’t be able to actually go out for awhile. But I bet you could get Sam to give you his number and you could text or talk first.”

Kurt took the phone back and let the video start playing again. “O-Ok.” He was too busy watching Blaine sing again to notice the matching smirks Santana and Rachel were giving him.

xxxxxxxxx

Blaine blinked his eyes open and rolled over, groaning as his nagging cough made itself known almost immediately. It was getting old. He spent most of his day either curled up in bed or on the couch, doing everything he could not to anger his lungs. He wasn’t succeeding much.

He lifted his head from the pillow as someone knocked on the door. It soon opened to what looked like his son floating in the air. He blinked his eyes again and noticed Sam coming in as well, holding his son up in front of him almost protectively. “Hey,” Blaine greeted hoarsely. He pushed himself into a sitting position against his headboard. “What are you doing with my son?” 

Sam visibly swallowed and approached the bed, holding Luke in the same manner. “Um, well, he’s protecting me.” 

“From?” Blaine went to grab Luke but Sam held him tight. Luke made a disgruntled noise but let Sam continue to hold him nonetheless. 

“You?”

“Huh?” Blaine ran a hand over his face. “Sam you know you can’t get sick unless I cough on you a whole lot or you drink after me. And besides that, would you really rather deal with a sick baby over yourself?”

“No, not from that.”

“Well what—what did you do, Sam?” Blaine slumped a little down into his pillows, worry lines forming on his brow. 

“Now, just remember I am holding your son and you can’t kill me while I’m holding him.” 

“Sam,” Blaine warned.

“I may have set you up on a date with my friend Kurt.”

“You what?” Blaine snapped, causing himself to cough and Luke to whimper at the loudness. 

“Again, kid in the room and you are still sick. You can’t get angry.”

“The hell I can’t!” Blaine said in between coughs. Luke made a few more noises of discontent. “Give me my son Sam.”

“But—”

“Sam, now.”

Sam sighed and handed Luke over. “Please don’t be mad, but dude, you said you would start doing things for yourself. And this is something you can do for yourself.”

Blaine bit his lip and cradled Luke close to his chest. “You should’ve asked me.”

“Well, I did. You just may have been half asleep and semi high from your meds. But I did yell in and ask if it was ok if I gave Kurt your number and you said yes. Well it was this half groan half yawn thing that I think was supposed to be a yes. Your face was pressed into the pillow and you were kind of drooling so it wasn’t clear but—”

“Sam,” Blaine groaned, letting his head fall back against the pillows. “I can’t go out with someone! I—”

“Kurt is a good guy, and he already texted you. See!” Sam held up Blaine’s phone and showed the text messages. 

Blaine took the phone, but tried not to read into them much. “I think you should go.”

“But—”

“I know, but I just need a few minutes.”

Sam nodded and stood from the bed. When he got to the door, he paused and turned back. “Do you hate me?”

“No, of course not. I’m just not sure what to think of all this.” 

“Just, give it a chance,” Sam pleaded on last time. He slipped out of the room, leaving Blaine and Luke alone. 

Blaine sighed once again and looked down at Luke. He had calmed and was busy playing with Blaine’s t-shirt. Blaine rubbed his back gently and let him tug on the shirt. The room remained silent aside from Luke’s babbling until there was a knock at the door. 

“Sam, I asked you to give me some time to think. I—”

“Not Sam,” Artie said as he opened the door and wheeled himself inside. 

“Hey, sorry.” Blaine rubbed a hand over his face. 

“Nah, don’t be. Sam told me what he did.” Artie moved closer to the bed and played with Luke’s feet for a moment as he talked. “You shouldn’t be mad at him though. He just wants to help you.”

Blaine nodded. “But I don’t need help with that.”

“No, you don’t want help. You never do.” Artie smiled sadly at him. 

“I—”

“I know,” Artie sighed. “I didn’t mean anything by it. Just, that you do need help every once in awhile.”

Blaine toyed with his son’s curls. “Maybe I don’t want to date.”

“Maybe, but I think you’d be lying if you said you didn’t.” Blaine shot him a look. “Oh come on, Blaine, we’re not blind. We’ve seen the way you look at the couples at the coffee shop. You want that.”

“I’ve already had it once before and it didn’t work out. Maybe I’m not supposed—”

“Stop that,” Artie interrupted. “That had nothing to do with you. That was all on your ex. That doesn’t mean every guy will do that to you.”

“No one wants a guy with a kid, not at our age.”

Artie shrugged. “Never know til you try. And I know Kurt. He doesn’t follow what everyone else does. So I think you should at least try.”

“I don’t know,” Blaine huffed.

Artie pulled out his phone and brought up an old video. “This is us in glee club.” He pressed play. “That’s Kurt there.” Kurt came on the screen, dancing and singing with the rest of them. While he was in the background while some girl sang lead, he definitely stood out. “He’s really a good guy.” He reached over to Blaine’s phone and handed it to him. “Just think about it.” With that, he left, leaving Blaine with his phone and Luke. 

Blaine groaned to himself and shoved the phone away from him. Luke saw it and crawled his way over to it, pressing buttons and shaking it, laughing all the while. 

“No, bud. You can’t have that.” Blaine pulled it out of his son’s grasp and caught the boy as he tried to chase after it and fell into his dad. Blaine pulled Luke back onto his lap and looked down at the text message. The number was new, obviously Kurt’s. Luke looked down at the phone then back up at his dad. “What do you think? Think I should try?”

Luke started nodding vigorously, falling forward again and giggling. 

Blaine shook his head. “Your favorite thing to do is say no and the one time I would love for you to say it you don’t, huh?” he scoffed, causing Luke to giggle all the more. “Of course.” He toyed with the phone for another minute before finally giving in and reading the message. 

_Hello, Blaine. So—I don’t normally do this type of thing but looks like our friends are conspiring against us. I’m sorry for that. I’m sure if you are as much like me as they keep claiming that this is driving you crazy too. I will understand if you want to ignore this. But from what I was told you seem like someone I would like to meet. So if you don’t mind putting up with Sam and Rachel gloating for a few days, text me back. ~Kurt_

Blaine smiled a little at the text and sank into the pillows. His finger hovered over the delete button for a moment before swiping the other way to reply. It took him awhile but he eventually messaged back. It was simple, just introducing himself and apologizing for Sam as Kurt had done for Rachel. But it was a start. 

It was the start of many days of texting. While Blaine had been reluctant to initiate anything, the talking came easy. They texted about shows they enjoyed and the classes they were taking. Blaine steered clear of mentioning that he was a freshman just yet and allowed Kurt to assume he was just a year behind Kurt instead. He also never mentioned Luke…

He was never ashamed of Luke. Far from it. He just couldn’t deal with the idea of someone else rejecting Luke. He’d already gone through that once before with his ex-husband and he wasn’t sure how he could handle going through it again. So he never brought it up. He fretted and panicked, but he never said anything. 

The problem with that came on the night he had finally decided to meet up with Kurt. It made his anxiety all the worse and put him on edge. He kept sneaking glances at his son while he dug through his closet. The little boy sat on his bed, playing with the various bowties and socks that littered the comforter. 

“Woah,” Sam gasped, taking in all the clothes and things as he came into the room. “You might want to pick this stuff up in case you want to bring Kurt back here after dinner.”

“I’m not bringing him back. I doubt we’ll even last through til dinner.” Blaine’s hands shook as he buttoned up his shirt. “I’ll start talking and he will run as fast as possible once he knows about my…everything.” 

Sam smiled sadly and took the bowtie from Luke. “Wear this one.” Blaine nodded and slipped it around his neck. “And stop panicking so much. You are allowed to have fun. You can make something like this work. I don’t care what you think.” 

“Thanks,” Blaine sighed. He ran a hand through his hair, sending a few of the curls in errant directions. “What am I doing? I don’t know how to do this. I—”

“You are going out with a new friend who could become more. You are going to have fun at a restaurant you’ve wanted to try for ages and enjoy the night. That’s all.” Sam squeezed Blaine’s shoulder. “Stop thinking about Eric and what happened with him. Kurt’s not Eric.”

Blaine bit his lip as he picked up a jacket. “That doesn’t mean he will like me anymore.”

“Doesn’t mean he’ll like you any less either.” Blaine started to argue but Sam continued. “You know you have like ten minutes to get to the restaurant if you want to be on time.”

Blaine looked at the time and cursed under his breath. He ran to the bed and scooped Luke up. “Love you buddy.” He pressed a big kiss to his cheek. “Be good for Uncle Sam. 

“He’s always good for me,” Sam replied, taking Luke from Blaine and shooing him out of the room. “Go! Have fun.”

“Ok, but text me if anything is going on with Luke. And remember he likes his Chewbacca bear for bed and—”

“And the fuzzy duck blanket now that it is turning colder outside. I remember.” 

Blaine smiled shyly. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be. Just get out of here before you are even later than you already are.” 

“Yeah, you’re right. Bye buddy.” He gave Luke one last kiss and waved goodbye to Sam. He rushed down the stairs and practically ran to the restaurant. 

Kurt was already there when he arrived, making him all the more nervous. His sweaty hands shook at his sides and his mouth suddenly ran dry just as he needed to speak. “Um, hello? K-Kurt?” he greeted upon reaching the table. Kurt turned away from the window and looked up at him, smiling a little but the tense lines around his face made it obvious he was annoyed by Blaine’s tardiness. But he didn’t say anything about it. Instead he stood and shook Blaine’s hand. 

“Hey, Blaine, right?”

“Yeah, look I’m so sorry I was late. I had to take—“ a second shower because my son decided I looked better with his baby food all in my hair—“a minute to find a better tie.” Nice job, Blaine. 

For his part, Kurt at least laughed at him. “Well that is a nice bowtie so I guess you are forgiven.”

Blaine smiled shyly. “I really am sorry. I promise I’m not normally late like this.”

Kurt nodded and took a sip from his water. “Ok, enough of the apologies. We decided to meet up so we could get to know each other.” Kurt slipped his phone off the table and into his pocket. Blaine hated leaving his own out but he had to in case Sam called about Luke. Kurt eyed it for a moment but didn’t say anything about it. Instead, he attempted to start a conversation going. “So you go to Tisch?”

Blaine waited until the waiter took their orders a moment later before responding. “Yeah, I’m majoring in musical theater and education with a minor in composition.”

“Wow, I thought it was hard enough just having one major.”

Blaine laughed. “Yeah, haven’t decided if I’m ambitious or just stupid.”

“Can’t be stupid if you are able to handle all of that at a school that nice.” 

Blaine blushed. “NYADA is pretty great too. I’m impressed.”

The conversation carried on for some time, the two moving easily from school to hobbies to music. But Blaine skirted around the topic of family when Kurt would bring up his own, simply asking Kurt to tell him more. The only problem was that Blaine kept sneaking glances at his phone. Sam had begun texting him, telling him that Luke didn’t seem to be feeling too well. It made Blaine antsy no matter how many times Sam said he had it under control. While Blaine thought he was able to hide it well, he apparently wasn’t. 

“If you don’t want to be here, you just have to say so,” Kurt sighed. 

“I’m sorry?” Blaine asked, his brow scrunching up.

“You’ve checked your phone more times than I can count and it’s been buzzing for the last half hour. You didn’t have to have Sam or whoever do the whole ‘call me so I can get out of my date thing’ you know? I’d rather you come out and say it.”

Blaine gulped nervously. His phone buzzed again and he picked it up. Kurt huffed from across the table and Blaine screwed his eyes shut. He had been having such a nice time but he couldn’t put this off any longer. He unlocked the phone and pulled up a picture of Luke. He handed the phone towards Kurt and motioned for him to look. “That’s why I keep checking my phone.”

“Luke?”

“How do you know his name?”

Kurt handed the phone back. “I’ve been working at his daycare for a few weeks. Covering for his dad who’s been sick.” He looked up at Blaine with wide eyes. “You’re—”

“I’m his dad.” Blaine nodded. “I’m sorry. Sam should’ve warned you.” Blaine ran a hand over his face. “I hate to cut this short but Sam has been texting me all night because Luke’s apparently not been feeling too well and I’d really like to go check on him.” Blaine stood from the table and took out his wallet. “Here, at least let me pay for the meal.”

“Blaine—”

“I really am sorry, Kurt. I had a nice time and it was great to finally meet you.” 

Before Kurt could respond, Blaine left, not noticing the way Kurt looked at him as he rushed out of the restaurant.

xxxxxxxxx

Blaine picked up his phone to snap some pictures of the decorations and cake before his son tore into everything. He hadn’t touched his phone much during the week, scared to see what Kurt would have said since the botched date. But it was Luke’s first Birthday and he wanted to have as many pictures of it all as possible.

“Where do you want these?” 

Blaine looked up to see Cooper staggering in with piles of presents in his arms. “Hey! When did you get here?” Blaine set his phone down and helped Cooper set some of the presents down. “I thought you couldn’t get away from filming for awhile?”

“I just got here. Sam let me in. There was no way I was going to miss my favorite nephew’s first Birthday!”

“He’s your only nephew,” Blaine sighed, shaking his head fondly at his brother. 

“Whatever. Still my favorite.” Cooper set the rest of the presents down and stood up, looking around. “So where is the birthday boy anyway?”

“Taking a nap before the others come over.”

“Others? Who? The boyfriend coming?” Cooper jabbed him in the side.

“What boyfriend? There is no boyfriend. You know that,” Blaine scoffed in reply. He turned away and set about finishing everything up for the party. 

“Sam said you went out with someone last weekend,” Cooper continued, following along behind him.

“And did he mention how I looked like I wanted to be somewhere else and then had to rush out because Luke had a fever and needed me?” Cooper’s face fell. “Yeah, figured he neglected that tiny detail.” Blaine bit his lip and pulled the cake from the oven. “I haven’t talked to him since then so don’t think he can be called my boyfriend.”

“I’m sorry, B.” Cooper squeezed Blaine’s shoulder. 

Blaine smiled sadly towards him. “Luke should probably be waking up. Let me get him for us.”

“No need,” Sam said as he entered the kitchen. He held Luke high above his head, letting the little boy feel as if he was flying. Both Sam and Luke had their superhero costumes on; Sam had another cape draped over his shoulder. “The little guy was already awake when I went to check on him so figured I’d grab him for you. Also got your cape.” 

“Cape?” Cooper asked with a grin. 

Blaine rubbed at the back of his neck as he took the cape. “It’s a superhero party.”

“So you have to have a cape, duh,” Sam added. “There’s one for you in the living too, Coop.”

Blaine couldn’t help but laugh at the expression on his brother’s face. “Yeah, Uncle Coop has to have one too.” He slid the material around his shoulders and took Luke from Sam. “Better get a move on and put the thing on already.” 

It was obvious Cooper wanted to glare, but the giggles coming from Luke lessened the effect. “Fine,” he sighed and went to put it on. Before Blaine could tease Cooper any more, the buzzer rang through the apartment and guests began showing up. He hadn’t invited many, mostly a few of the babies from the daycare and their parents. Shelby and Beth were also set to come. Blaine’s parents wouldn’t dare set foot in his apartment, and neither would Eric. But that was fine; Blaine preferred it that way at this point. 

In the past, he had dreamed of having his husband and parents by his side through all of this, but things change. He had a family, even if it was by no means conventional, and it worked for him. Sure, he was lonely sometimes, but it could be worse. It had been worse not that long ago. He knew he had made the right decisions, seeing Luke flail his arms out and giggle while Sam played with him and the other babies made that much obvious.

But he still had moments of doubt…

Blaine couldn’t spend much time thinking about that though. A knock at the door started him from those thoughts. No one else seemed to notice it, too wrapped up in the party and the babies. He was closest anyway to the door anyway. With a sigh, he turned around towards it and pulled it open, expecting to see one of the neighbors complaining about the added noise or something. 

He never expected to see Kurt standing on the other side of the door.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I suck at updates when school gets crazy and the last year has been a bit of a whirlwind. I need to get back into writing to help cope with the stress of grad school, and I’m hoping this will be a jumpstart on that. Thank you to everyone who originally started reading this and hello to any new readers. I really appreciate you guys sticking with me and I hope I won’t disappoint!

Blaine’s jaw dropped and his throat ran dry. He blinked, as if to reassure himself that Kurt was really standing in his hall. He needed to speak. Anything would be better than just standing there and starting at Kurt. Yet he didn’t know what to say. Didn’t know what to even think. So he stood there, feeling like an idiot, until Kurt finally broke the silence.

“So you going to let me in? You did invite me after all,” he laughed, rubbing at the back of his neck with the hand not holding a present.

“Huh?” Blaine muttered in shock.

“Can I come in?” Kurt asked again, this time sounding more skeptical. 

“Oh, um, yeah,” Blaine stuttered. He stepped aside and let Kurt into the entranceway. 

“Thanks. I was beginning to think you had reconsidered your invitation.” 

“Invitation? I—”

“Hey Kurt!” Sam greeted on his way to the kitchen. “Good to see you could come after all.”

“Yeah,” Kurt responded. “Was scared I would have to go into the office today but things worked out in the end.”

“But—” Blaine started, only to be interrupted again by Cooper this time.

“Blaine, I think someone is ready for presents and cake now,” Cooper stated, walking towards the hallway with Luke in his arms. As soon as Luke laid eyes on Kurt, he let out a bit of a squeal and tried to propel himself out of Cooper’s arms. “Woah, buddy! Where do you think you’re going? Trying to make an escape from your Uncle Cooper?”

Luke grumbled out something that soundly vaguely like a K sound. He continued to reach towards Kurt until Cooper finally relented and handed his nephew over. 

“Hey, Luke,” Kurt cooed, bouncing the boy in his arms. Luke babbled excitedly back and toyed with the edges of the scarf Kurt wore around his neck. 

While Kurt talked to Luke, Cooper sidled up to Blaine. “Liar,” he whispered.

Blaine knit his brow in confusion. “Huh?”

“You said there was no boyfriend yet by all accounts this looks like a boyfriend.”

“I—it’s—well—”

“No need to explain, tiger,” Cooper said softly with a wink. 

Blaine groaned to himself but was saved by Kurt coming back over. “Sorry, I’m probably hogging him.”

“Oh, it’s fine,” Blaine replied, and strangely enough it was. Luke was a happy baby and rarely complained about being around people, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t squirm and huff until he got to the people he preferred. There were no signs of that now. He was fine in Kurt’s arms, happy even. “He likes you.” 

Kurt laughed. “Well he’s about the only child at daycare that does.” 

Blaine smiled at that, watching as Kurt continued to bounce and make faces at Luke. The child just giggled and tried to grab at Kurt’s hair and clothes, obviously content and enjoying his new friend. 

“So—I just realized I didn’t catch your name?” Cooper asked with a small smirk. 

“Oh, I’m Kurt,” he replied, shifting Luke so he could shake Cooper’s hand. 

“Cooper, Blaine’s big brother and Luke’s favorite uncle.”

Blaine rolled his eyes. “You’re his only uncle.”

“Hey!” Sam chimed in, still standing off to the side. “I’m his uncle too.” 

Blaine groaned but couldn’t get another word in thanks to Cooper. “So this is the boyfriend I haven’t heard anything about huh?” 

Kurt’s eyes widened and Blaine felt his face turn bright red. 

“Ok, I think it’s time for presents,” Sam said, saving Blaine from any more Cooper’s questioning. “Come on Kurt.” Sam clapped Kurt on the shoulder and guided him towards the living room.

Once Blaine recovered a bit from his embarrassment, he punched Cooper hard in the arm.

“Hey! Ouch! What was that for? Don’t you know I need that arm unblemished? I’m shooting a beach scene next week and can’t have any bruises showing!” 

“Then you should probably learn to keep your mouth shut! Stop calling Kurt my boyfriend. You’re going to make him uncomfortable and then he will want to leave and Luke will get upset and—”

“And you will get upset too.”

Blaine bit his lip and looked towards his feet.

“Ok squirt,” Cooper sighed, throwing his arm around his brother’s shoulders. “I’ll lay off of him. I’m just messing around because I could tell you like him.”

“That doesn’t mean he likes me back or wants anything to do with me,” Blaine replied softly. 

Cooper nudged Blaine towards the living room so that he could see Kurt once again. He was sitting in the floor with Luke on his lap. His son was still babbling and tugging at Kurt, smiling all the while. Kurt looked pretty happy himself. 

“Does that look like he wants nothing to do with you?” 

Blaine didn’t say anything. He didn’t know what to even say. So instead, he walked into the living room and tried to just lose himself in taking care of Luke on his birthday. That was always easier, focusing on Luke and his needs. 

Only Luke didn’t seem to need much while Kurt had him. 

“Time for presents!” Cooper yelled, breaking Blaine from his reverie. The party launched back into full chaos, with all the kids grabbing for the discarded boxes and wrapping paper while the adults tried to make sure they didn’t hurt themselves. Luke alternated between Blaine and Kurt’s lap, only getting up long enough to snatch up a discarded bow to decorate Kurt’s forehead. 

The afternoon passed in a similar fashion. Everyone joined in the chaos of presents, kids, and cake. Little superhero capes were whizzing by in various directions. Luke took it all in stride. He played with the new toys for a bit, smushed cake all over his face with enthusiasm, and giggled every time Blaine and Kurt picked him up. 

Needless to say Luke was exhausted by the time it was all over. He had managed to crawl onto Kurt and burrow into his chest. By the time the other guests had left, Luke had practically pinned Kurt to the couch.

Blaine returned from saying goodbye to Cooper, Sam, and Artie who suddenly all claimed they had plans. Blaine peeked around the corner to see Luke still fast asleep on top of Kurt, who was now the only guest left from the party. Blaine took a deep breath and joined them on the couch. 

“You know, I can probably take him. He’s a pretty sound sleeper. Shouldn’t be too hard.”

“He’s fine,” Kurt waved him off. “I’ve heard him cry at the daycare. Don’t feel like bursting my ear drums tonight.”

Blaine laughed a little. “Yeah, he’s got my lungs for sure. Would you believe me if I said he’s gotten quieter?”

“Oh god! It used to be worse?” 

Blaine nodded. “Not when I first brought him home but as he got a little older. I swore up and down Sam and Artie would kick us out if when we first moved in.”

“Nah, they’re good guys. Meddling guys, but good nonetheless.” Blaine sent Kurt a puzzled look. “Oh come on, I know one of them texted me to come over for the party and not you. No offense, but your face when you opened the door gave it away.”

Blaine rubbed at the back of his neck as his face flushed with embarrassment. “It wasn’t that I didn’t want you here.”

“I know. But,” Kurt shifted slightly, careful not to wake Luke, “can you explain why you didn’t?”

“After that disastrous date? I was pretty sure you never wanted to see me again.”

“It wasn’t disastrous.” Blaine scoffed. “Believe it or not, I’ve had worse.”

“But you don’t deserve that,” Blaine said softly, almost hoping that Kurt wouldn’t hear him.

“Well, maybe you don’t either.” 

Blaine stayed quiet for a few minutes, his leg bouncing nervously and his arms crossed to prevent his hands from shaking. “I haven’t done this in a long time. Not since Luke came along. I didn’t really expect to. And now that I am…”

“It’s rough. I know. I’ve been there.” Kurt looked down at look. “Well not literally where you are but close. I know what it’s like to think you are out of the dating game only to be thrown back in. It sucks. But, that doesn’t make it impossible.” Kurt shifted Luke so that he could free up a hand. He slid it across the couch and took Blaine’s in his own. “Doesn’t mean we can’t try.”

“I’d like that,” Blaine admitted softly. 

“Me too.” Kurt smiled broadly. “So how about we have a second date? Try again?”

Blaine nodded. “Um…I saw a flyer at school for an off Broadway production of _Rent_ next weekend. Sam’s off from work that night. I could get him to watch Luke. We could do dinner and the show?” 

“It’s a date.”

xxxxxx

After the first disastrous date, Blaine was nervous about their second. He took even longer than before to get ready, changing multiple times and annoying the hell out of his roommates. Even Luke seemed to get frustrated if his fussing was any indication. In the end, it was well worth it. The second date was well worth the fuss. It was even worth the first date from hell.

They talked almost nonstop through dinner this time, learning the other’s likes and dislikes. Blaine still checked his phone every now and then, but there were no disasters on the Luke front thankfully. It was easy going and both boys seemed to relax the more they talked. 

Come time for the musical, they were both nearly giddy with excitement. They took their seats and settled in for the show. Kurt pointed out people he recognized in the cast, a few recent NYADA grads in the chorus here and there. When the lights dimmed, both turned their full attention to the stage, their shoulders touching. They remained that way until the end of the show, when they both jumped up to applaud and whistle with the rest of the audience. Blaine couldn’t remember the last time he was able to truly enjoy a show that much. So much so that he really hated to leave… 

Kurt turned and looked up at the theater marquee one last time before sighing and walking away with Blaine. Their hands brushed against each other awkwardly, neither apparently knowing what to do now that the show was over. Blaine’s nerves had kicked back in, making him scared of doing anything he wanted to do. He wanted to take Kurt’s hand. He wanted to pull him along to somewhere nicer than the sidewalk. And he wanted finally get up the courage to give him a kiss. 

Before Blaine could say anything, Kurt spoke up. “So that was great.” His eyes were still wide and his voice held a tone of amazement, both making Blaine smile. “I’ve always wanted to see it on stage. There was a production in Columbus when I was high school but no one could go with me.” 

Blaine remembered that production. He had wanted to see it as well. But Eric had made other plans for them and wouldn’t agree to change them. Blaine didn’t feel like going into all those details yet, so he simply nodded. “Well, I’m glad you finally got to see it then.” 

“Yes, thank you again for this. I know Fridays are normally your coffee shop performance night. You didn’t have to cancel for me.”

They stopped at the crosswalk and checked for cars. Once across the street and safely on their way to the park, Blaine smiled softly. “It wasn’t a problem. This is one of my favorite shows. I was happy to go. Was happy to be able to take you to it.” He blushed and had to look away, afraid Kurt would notice. 

“Well, thank you again,” Kurt continued. He bumped shoulders with Blaine. “Though I think you should carry on your Friday night tradition and perform for me.” 

“Hmm?” Blaine turned towards Kurt, his feet shuffling against the dirt along the path. The two of them had entered the park. It was just dark enough that most people had already left for the day, but not too late for a walk. 

“I want to hear you sing,” Kurt answered. “I mean, Sam had Rachel show me a video of you singing, but you know how those things are. Phones are great but it’s never as good as in person.”

“You want to hear me sing?” 

“Yeah,” Kurt replied with a smile and a slight blush. “I mean, I could hear you singing under your breath during most of the songs tonight but I’d love to not have to strain my ears this time to hear you sing this time.”

Blaine groaned, “You noticed that, huh?”

“Oh yes.” 

Blaine shook his head. “I’m really not that good.”

“I beg to differ from what I heard on that video.”

“The one you said was bad?”

This time Kurt shook his head. “No, never said you were bad, just the quality.”

Blaine bit his lip. “Only if you sing too.” Kurt fixed him with a look. “Oh don’t look at me that way. I know you can sing. Probably better than I can since you are a NYADA student after all. And I totally noticed you singing along with Angel on ‘I’ll Cover You’ earlier.”

Kurt laughed. “Guilty. Pretty sure I know all the lyrics to this show though. I used to listen to it so much growing up and I just taught myself all the parts.” Kurt paused to sit down on the nearby bench, smiling to himself as he talked. “I mean, I would put on one man shows in my house when I was alone.”

“That sounds like fun.” Blaine took a seat next to him, his hands still shaking slightly from his nerves.

“Yeah it was.” Kurt rubbed at the back of his neck. “Though this one time my dad came home early and I was right in the middle of a one man show of ‘La Vie Boheme’.”

“Oh god! That had to be awkward,” Blaine laughed. 

“Could have been worse,” Kurt shrugged. “At least I wasn’t at Mark’s ‘mucho masturbation’ line.” 

Both boys dissolved into a fit of laughter that took a few moments to subside. 

“Ok,” Kurt sighed, still smiling, “now that I’ve told you that embarrassing story, you have to sing.”

“Fine,” Blaine relented, standing up and holding his hands out in front of himself. “But you have to sing with me.”

“But—”

“Only fair. After this you will have heard me sing twice technically—three times if you count Luke’s birthday when I started the round of ‘Happy Birthday.’”

“I guess we could sing ‘I’ll Cover You’ since it was pretty obvious in there that we both knew it.”

“I’ll take Collins part while you take Angel’s.”

“That means I have to sing first!”

Blaine faked a gasp and held a hand to his chest. “It does, doesn’t it?”

Kurt stood up and shoved gently at his shoulder. “Don’t even act surprised.”

Blaine chuckled. “Alright. Shall we then?”

Kurt rolled his eyes a little and started walking. After a few steps he started singing Angel’s opening lines. “Live in my house, I’ll be your shelter...”

Blaine couldn’t help but stare at Kurt as they walked and he sang. His voice—Blaine had never quite heard anything like it. Kurt had told him he was a countertenor in the past, but to actually see and hear him…Blaine didn’t know what to say. 

Blaine was so caught up in listening to Kurt’s voice that he nearly missed his own cue. He recovered as quickly as he could and started his part. “Open your door, I’ll be your tenant. Don’t got much baggage to lay at your feet.” In truth, he felt like he had a lot of baggage that would be piling up on Kurt; that would burry Kurt and make him never want to see him again. But for now, for one night, he could try to forget. He could lose himself in the song, in the moment. 

The sang together during the parts Angel and Collins joined in together on, Kurt grabbing him and making him dance around the park. The more they sang and moved around together, the more relaxed Blaine became. He hadn’t felt this comfortable and at ease with anyone new in a long time. Maybe ever. 

“You’ll be my king, and I’ll be your castle,” Kurt sang. 

Blaine broke away from Kurt and jumped up on an empty bench. “No, you’ll be my queen and I’ll be your moat.” He tried to jump back down but lost his balance just as Kurt started singing the next line. He all but fell into Kurt, and was amazed they didn’t both end up sprawled out in the dirt. Kurt just barely managed to catch him and keep them both upright, with Blaine grabbing at his shoulders tightly. 

Their faces were just inches apart, both trying to catch their breath. Blaine’s eyes flickered up to meet Kurt’s after a few seconds. 

“Are you ok?” Kurt asked, obviously concerned.

Blaine bit his lip and let his eyes gaze down to Kurt’s mouth. He took a deep breath a leaned in for a kiss before he could second guess himself. Kurt gasped against his mouth at first but then started to return the kiss. It lasted for a few moments before they broke apart. Blaine chuckled to himself. “Yeah, I’m ok.”

“Think you were more than ok,” Kurt laughed before going in for another kiss. 

They stayed that way in the park for a little while longer, but the wind started to pick up and the air turned too cold. They reluctantly broke apart and started to walk back towards their apartments. This time, their hands were entangled together at their sides, Blaine’s no longer shaking.


End file.
